James and Flynn
by DonaldDouglasandToby6
Summary: After a stressful journey with Dowager Hatt, James thinks Flynn's job of fighting fires is easy. But when a lit cigar causes a fire at Ulfstead Castle, James just might change his mind.


James chuckled as he puffed into Tidmouth Sheds.

"Look at me after a washdown I just had! I look marvelous! Certainly the cleanest engine on this island!"

Emily rolled her eyes; it was another typical day, alright.

"Then why did I see you working at the harbour?" teased Thomas, "That doesn't sound very... hygienic."

The other engines giggled.

"The Fat Controller stationed me there. So what? At least I'm clean. Other engines are just... ugh! Take my advice and switch to red paint instead. It stands out more."

"My blue paint stands out perfectly!" huffed Thomas.

"Ha, now that's funny!" grinned James.

"Shouldn't you have learned this by now?" scowled Percy.

"What? No, you're the engine who should learn." James huffed.

Emily was getting fed up.

"James," she said, trying to keep calm, "why don't you get some fresh air? You always said the countryside gets you all fired up. Perhaps it'll clear your smokebox."

James wheeshed steam at her and some dirt covered Emily from smokebox to cab.

"James!" she shrieked as she looked at herself.

James snickered.

"That wasn't funny, James!" huffed Percy.

"Yes it was."

"*ahem*!" said a familiar voice.

The engines looked down to find the Fat Controller walking out of Winston.

"Enough of this nonsense, James. My mother is coming to visit me again, and since the others are busy..."

He glared at the others.

Getting the hint, the others started to puff away.

"...I would like you to collect her and take her to Ulfstead Castle, where I'll be waiting. It's just more convenient that way. She'll be arriving at the Sodor Airport."

James sighed.

"Yes sir..."

"Good." and the Fat Controller drove away.

James groaned.

"Dowager Hatt?! Why?!"

Percy raised an eyebrow.

"You don't like Dowager Hatt? Why?" asked the little engine.

"She often bounces around in the coaches from what I had heard, and she's just too energetic." James snorted, "Completely undignified."

Emily sighed.

"You're just too sensitive..." and she puffed away to get to work, following after Thomas.

James snorted.

"I am not..."

James collected his coaches at the yard and set off for the airport.

Jeremy the Jet Plane was touching down on Sodor as he flew in.

"Right on schedule," he said proudly as he touched land, "As always."

He looked up to find James puffing into the station with a red coach.

The plane chuckled as he came to a halt.

"Hello James. Looking for a passenger?"

James scowled.

"As a matter of fact, I am. Where is she?"

"Ahahaha, right here!" called an elderly voice.

A couple of people were helping Dowager Hatt out of Jeremy.

"Now, now gentlemen, there's no reason to be so charming. I'm fine. Now where's Bertram?"

Dowager Hatt's face brightened up when she saw James.

"Ah, hello James! Are you my train?" she asked.

"There's...nobody else around, ma'm," muttered James.

"Ah, delightful. Where's Bertram?"

Before James could answer, Jeremy answered for him.

"He's at Ulfstead Castle ma'm." the jet plane said.

"Oh, how wonderful!" and Dowager Hatt was escorted into her coach.

Jeremy noticed the expression on James' face.

"What's wrong, James? Isn't carrying Dowager Hatt important?" he asked.

James grunted.

"Not really. She's come here so many times..."

"Well, cheer up! It's a sunny day, you know! Everyone can see your shiny red paint!" Jeremy chuckled.

"Don't mock me..."

"Oh trust me, I'm completely serious," grinned Jeremy.

James just puffed away, still in a bad mood.

As the red engine puffed along, Dowager Hatt stuck her head out the window.

"Excuse me! You! The red one! Can you take me to the Sodor Search and Rescue Centre?"

A bewildered look crossed James' face.

"Why...?"

"Because I want to see the Rescue Team; they keep Sodor safe and I'd prefer it if I could get to know them before I end up needing to be rescued." the Fat Controller's mother said.

James sighed.

"...fine..."

"Oh happy, happy!" Dowager Hatt said with delight.

James was even more confused.

"Who says that?" he asked aloud.

"Me." came the miffed reply.

James fumed as he set off for the Sodor Search and Rescue Centre.

"This woman is very difficult," he groaned to his driver as she began singing for no apparent reason.

The driver was a little cross.

"James, this person flew from the Mainland to visit his son. I think that deserves a little bit of respect at least."

"...maybe, but she's so annoying!"

"Like how you are in the shed?" smirked James' driver.

James' face flushed.

"...sh-shut up..."

Soon, he puffed into the Rescue Centre. Flynn was there, waiting by himself while everyone else was out rescuing.

He sighed sadly to himself.

"Everyone else leaves me all alone, and I have no-one to talk to! Not even Belle!"

He heard a loud whistle.

"Oh! Visitors!" Flynn grinned.

His smile faded though when he saw it was James.

The red engine puffed alongside Flynn, and he seemed cross that Flynn looked less enthusiastic.

"What, were you expecting someone else?" he asked rudely.

Flynn couldn't help but giggle.

"Well, sort of. I was expecting someone more... pleasant." he teased.

James just rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. I'm just here to drop off Dowager Hatt."

"The Fat Controller's mother? Why?" asked Flynn in confusion.

"Because she said so. I don't know, but trust me, you don't want to disobey her..." James said with a hint of worry in his voice.

The elderly lady shook hands with the manager and looked to Flynn.

"Goodness me, you're Fiery Flynn!"

"I still have no idea what that means," muttered James.

Flynn beamed with pride.

"That I am! Nice to meet you! If you're ever in the danger of flame, I'll be there!"

"That's good to hear," said Dowager Hatt.

James was growing impatient.

"Come on ma'm, you'll be late to Ulfstead Castle."

"Oh! That's right. Nice to meet you Flynn, but duty calls! I must drink tea professionally!" and the woman got back into the coach.

"You have no idea how hard it is carrying this person... She's never satisfied!"

The red engine sighed.

"It makes you fighting fires look like just racing light-engine to the castle..."

Flynn narrowed his eyes at James, suddenly very serious.

"You don't know a thing about fires. Fire destroys anything in its path; turns everything it touches into crisp, burnt pieces of ember... They can put innocent lives in danger. People have lost their lives in fires; they can be tamed and put into homes to cook food and provide heat, and even power steam engines, like yourself. But beware James; don't play with fire."

James was a little cross.

"But all you have to do is just pour water on it and it's finished! Easy peasy!"

Flynn gave an icy glare at the steam engine.

James was a bit uncomfortable.

"Uh...goodbye Flynn..." he said slowly as he puffed away.

Flynn sighed as James was almost out of sight.

"I hope he doesn't mean that..."

While in the coach, Dowager Hatt looked up to find a waiter presenting her a large cake.

"For you, Miss Hatt. At the request of Sir Bertram Topham Hatt." he said.

"Oh, how pleasant! Chocolate with coconut frosting! My other, other favorite! He remembered from that birthday five years ago!"

And she cut a slice, stuck it in her mouth and swallowed.

"Actually, Miss Hatt, he sort of picked it randomly." the waiter said.

"Oh. Well it's still delicious."

The waiter sighed and walked away.

James scowled with discontent.

It took a while before James puffed up to Ulfstead Castle.

But to his surprise, the drawbridge was up.

He whistled loudly.

"What's going on in there?" he huffed indignantly.

In the castle, the Earl ran up to Stephen.

"Are you ready, Stephen? Remember... this is a surprise!"

Stephen grinned.

"Right sir!"

But the Fat Controller looked worried as he walked up to the Earl.

"Are you sure she can handle sudden things like this?" he asked.

"Sir Topham, you worry too much. Your mother has a sense of adventure and surprise just like me; she'd expect this."

He turned to a workman.

"Lower the drawbridge!"

The workman nodded and switched a lever.

Slowly but surely, the drawbridge began to open.

The Earl and the Fat Controller clapped as James puffed in with the coach, looking a bit confused.

"What's all this, sir?" James whispered to his owner.

The Fat Controller tugged at his tie nervously.

"It was his idea," he said quietly, pointing to Sir Robert Norramby.

"Ah, Dowager Hatt, were you surprised?" asked the Earl excitedly.

"Well, I must say that I am!" grinned Dowager Hatt, "I love the look of this place! It looks just like a castle!"

"That's because it _is_ a castle," said Stephen helpfully.

"Oh wow! Well, I'm certainly pleased!"

"Come mother, it's teatime. We must catch up," said the Fat Controller and the trio walked into the castle.

James grunted as he puffed up to Stephen.

"Hi Stephen..."

"Oh. Hello James. You look...rather annoyed. Why?" the old engine asked.

James rolled his eyes.

"Flynn thinks fighting a fire is hard...isn't that silly?"

Stephen's mouth went agape.

"Why James...you can't be serious?!"

James rose an eyebrow.

"Uh...I am serious..."

Stephen's face darkened.

"Well, needless to say, I'd expect that from a youngster like you.."

James scoffed.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Stephen rolled his eyes.

"You really don't know, do you? Well. fighting a fire is very important. What would happen if some teenager threw a lighted cigarette at those fuel tankers over there?" the old engine said darkly, glancing at a line of fuel tankers on a siding.

"...a fire?"

"Exactly, James. Treat firefighters with respect. After all, you may get caught in a fire yourself..."

James winced.

Meanwhile, a few teenagers were walking into the castle.

"Good thing we took the road... That was a lot of work..." one grunted.

The other playfully shoved him.

"Eh, you're lazy. Would a smoke make you feel better, Sam?"

Sam grinned.

"Oh, yes please. I haven't had one in a while..."

The other teenager handed him a cigarette as they sat down near the fuel tankers.

Another teenager lit a match he had in his pocket.

"Here." he said to Sam as he handed to him.

Sam caught it and held the flame close to the cigar.

The cigar quickly lit, but Sam started coughing loudly.

"Yep...smoking does that...you'll get used to it..." said the other teenager.

But Sam couldn't take the coughing and threw the cigarette towards the fuel tankers, but it was still lit.

"Okay, that's it. We're gone!" the teenagers cried and they ran away.

The fire alighted the weeds right by the siding, and quickly, Stephen noticed the fire.

He gasped loudly.

"James, get away from the fuel tankers! They're gonna blow!"

James looked back and raced up to Stephen, screaming loudly.

"I don't want to blow-"

Before James could finish, the fuel tankers exploded.

Inside the castle, the Earl was having tea with Dowager Hatt and the Fat Controller.

"And so, this is why I own a Dinosaur Park," said the Earl proudly.

The Fat Controller blinked.

"I don't get it."

"It's because I think dinosaurs are interesting," explained the Earl.

"That doesn't match what you said at all," retorted the stout gentleman.

The explosion sounded outside.

The Earl gasped.

"What's going on?! I'm not reenacting the dinosaurs' extinction yet!"

The Fat Controller blinked again.

"Wait, what?"

Sir Robert Norramby looked out the window and gasped loudly at the fire.

"Alright, Rescue Centre time!"

He got out his phone and pressed a button.

At the Sodor Search and Rescue Centre, Flynn was fuming.

"And so, he says fighting a fire is less stressful than taking the Fat Controller's mother. What a disgrace! Fires are dangerous, fires can destroy entire cities!"

Belle frowned; Flynn had been ranting for a while.

"Well, that certainly is..offensive Flynn, but you usually don't get so worked up over something like this." she said worriedly.

Flynn scoffed.

"James is the engine whose oil tankers caught on fire from a leak; I don't see how he doesn't care. I treat my job seriously, unlike him..." the fire engine ranted.

Belle sighed.

"Look Flynn, karma will come his way soon. I don't think he'll get away with saying that."

"Hmph! He better not!" Flynn scowled.

Inside the office, the manager suddenly got a call on the phone.

"Ello, Sodor Rescue Centre speaking. The Earl? Is that you? With Sir Topham Hatt and Dowager Hatt?! Oh no, this is bad! Don't worry, I'll send the fire engines out at once."

The manager hung up, rang the alarm, and ran outside.

Belle and Flynn watched with worry as the manager scurried out the door and ran up to them.

"I need you both at Ulfstead Castle, pronto. Move it!" cried the manager urgently.

"Of course sir!" said Belle.

"Ready to rescue!" agreed Flynn.

Belle rang her bell and blew her whistle, while Flynn rang his sirens as the two fire engines raced off down the track.

Back at Ulfstead Castle, Stephen was backing away from the fire.

"James, follow me!" cried Stephen, "We don't have much time!"

James gulped and raced beside him.

"How can you take this so lightly?!" James burst out, "It's so...scary!"

"I've seen many fires in my day!" Stephen shouted, "The fear never goes away but the element of surprise does!"

"You're great at hiding fear," James cried as they got away from the flames.

He looked back to find the flames in a dark red hue, along with various yellows and oranges.

"I don't like this kind of red..." he muttered.

Down below on the slope, Belle and Flynn raced up it with a great speed.

"Come on Belle, we must hurry to save the castle!" Flynn cried with urgency.

"I'm hurrying as fast as you!" grinned Belle as they raced around the bend.

But they grins faded when they saw how massive the fire was.

"Oh my goodness..." gasped Belle as she came to a halt.

Flynn, however was more determined.

"Come on Belle, don't just sit there! There could be engines inside!" the fire engine exclaimed as he rushed into the smoke.

Belle gulped and headed off too.

"Is there anyone in there?!" shouted Flynn.

James and Stephen blew their whistles loudly so Belle and Flynn could hear them.

Belle gasped.

"They are in there! We've got to rescue them!"

So they aimed their water cannons and started work on the fire.

"Hurry!" shouted the Earl as he peeked out the door, "Don't let that fire touch King Godred's statue!"

Water flew from Belle's tanks and Flynn's water cannons as smoke swirled and the fire was quenched.

James was very scared indeed.

"Stephen, what do we do?!"

"All we can do is wait until it's put out," sighed the old engine.

James cringed.

"How long will that take...?"

Stephen chuckled.

"You scared?"

"No!" cried James defensively, "Just...worried?"

In the Dinosaur Park, Millie was showing some tourists the model volcano when she heard the loud sounds of the fire department.

"Bonté divine! Que se passe-t-il?" she cried as she looked back, "I must see what is going on!"

So she puffed backwards back to the castle.

Smoke rose high into the air and the fire could be seen from a distance.

Millie gasped when she realized something.

"Oh no! Stephen is in there! _Stephen_!" she yelled as she puffed closer.

Stephen heard Millie and blew his whistle.

"I'm alright!" he yelled, "Just get out of here!"

Millie bit her lip.

"If you say so, Stephen! Just be safe!" and she reversed away from the fire.

"Come on Belle, more water! More water!" cried Flynn.

"I'm trying the best I can, Flynn, but it's stressful!" wailed Belle as she pointed her cannons towards a pile of grass that was on fire.

Soon the fire on the grass was out.

"Well that was easy. Let's take care of the rest of it!" grinned Flynn.

Soon, half of the fire was out.

"They're doing it!" exclaimed Stephen, "Oh, I knew they would!"

"Was that why you weren't worried?" asked James.

"Sort of."

At last, the whole fire was out.

Everyone cheered, clapped and blew their whistles.

"That was close!" panted James, "I almost got caught in it..."

Millie puffed up to Stephen, looking very relieved indeed.

"Oh Stephen, you're alright!" she sighed happily.

"Well of course, Millie. This engine's been through things," Stephen chuckled.

Just then, another whistle blew.

Emily puffed in with her passengers to the castle.

She gasped and quickly came to a halt when she saw the burnt ground.

"W-what happened here?" she asked quietly.

"Oh, it's nothing Emily. Just a little...fire...that...nearly burned the King Godred statue..." said the Earl sheepishly, "And...looked like my plan to reenact the dinosaurs' extinction..."

The Fat Controller tapped the Earl's shoulder.

"Oh. What is it, Sir Topham?" Sir Robert asked as he turned to his friend.

The Fat Controller sighed.

"If you don't mind me being blunt...please don't reenact the dinosaurs' extinction. I can take you building a castle, building a dinosaur park, doing whatever else you have planned... But please don't make a fake asteroid and burn your Dinosaur Park. It's not worth it. And it makes everything else look phoned in."

"Oh. Of course, Sir Topham."

"Phew..."

Emily couldn't help but snicker when she saw James.

"Well, hello James. I guess you did get fired up after all!"

Even Belle and Flynn couldn't help but laugh at the joke.

James, however, was very embarrassed.

"Just remember James, don't play with fire!" added Emily as Belle and Flynn started hosing down the ground to make it cooler so nobody would be burned.

James just looked down at his buffers; he didn't want to make eye contact with anyone.

Later that day, James puffed into the Sodor Search and Rescue Centre with a supply train.

Flynn looked over and scoffed.

"Here's Mr. Fire Expert over here." he whispered to Belle.

Belle sighed.

"Flynn, I think it'd be best if you just talk to him. He does look apologetic. Look."

Flynn looked at James and noticed that Belle was right.

James took a big puff and looked over to the fire engine.

"Th-thank you for rescuing me from that fire at Ulfstead, Flynn. You too, Belle. I suppose I didn't realize the true danger a fire can have."

Belle winked at Flynn. Flynn couldn't help but smile.

"Thank you for understanding the danger, James. Fires are serious business."

James chuckled nervously.

"Yeah, very serious..."

James whistled as he was uncoupled and he puffed off to the shed.

"You know, I think James truly learned something today," said Flynn.

"Yeah? What is it?" grinned Belle.

Flynn laughed.

"Don't play with fire!"

And James did; from that day on, he learned to be careful around fires.


End file.
